I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to athletic shoes and, more particularly, to an athletic shoe particularly suited for use in baseball.
II. Description of the Prior Art
Athletic shoes, and particularly baseball shoes, typically comprise a sole having an upper extending upwardly from the sole and into which the foot of the athlete is positioned and secured in place. In addition, a plurality of cleats are secured to the sole and extend downwardly from it which improve the traction of the shoe when the athlete runs.
Although the cleats typically found on baseball shoes vary in precise form, typically three narrow cleats are secured to the bottom of the sole in a spaced apart relationship near the front or ball portion of the sole. Likewise, three or more relatively narrow cleats are secured to the heel portion of the sole in a spaced apart relationship. The cleats on both the ball and heel portion of the sole are straight when viewed from the bottom of the shoe and are usually positioned at oblique angles with respect to each other. One example of such a previously known baseball shoe can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 3,040,450 which issued on June 26, 1962 to F. C. Phillips. In the well known fashion, these previously known cleats dig into the ground when the athlete runs for improved traction.
The previously known athletic or baseball shoes, however, suffer from a number of disadvantages. One major disadvantage of these previously known baseball shoes is that such shoes hinder or resist pivoting of the athlete on the ball portion of the shoe. This hindrance results primarly from the oblique angles at which the straight cleats are arranged so that, when the athlete pivots on the ball portion of the shoe, the cleats drag along and dig up or plow the ground along a relatively wide area. This in turn causes a great deal of resistance and slows the overall pivoting action of the shoe and likewise the pivotal speed of the athlete.
Because of this resistance encountered by the athlete when pivoting with the previously known baseball shoe, it has been the practice of many athletes to bend the shoe forward prior to pivoting so that only the forwardmost cleat on the baseball shoe contacts the ground and then the athlete pivots in a desired fashion. While this procedure effectively reduces the resistance or drag caused by the cleats digging into the ground when pivoting since only one cleat contacts the ground, the traction of the athletic shoe is inadequate following the pivot since only one cleat contacts the ground. Moreover, the athlete is sometimes left in an awkward position following the pivot which adversely effects the subsequent running acceleration of the athlete.
A still further disadvantage of the previously known baseball shoe is that the cleats are relatively small and narrow so that the free end of each cleat forms a small and sharp cutting edge. Such cleats can cause relatively deep and serious cuts when the baseball player is sliding or the like. Likewise, these previously known small and narrow cleats can dig completely into the ground so that the sole of the baseball shoe rests upon the ground. This, however, is undesirable since the sole of the baseball shoe itself provides little, if any, traction while the baseball player is running.